Crime and Punishment in Durham: A Dark History Walking Tour

Durham has a dark history of crime and punishment that shaped English justice. On this walking tour, you'll uncover stories of botched executions, serial killers, and the extraordinary judicial powers wielded by Durham's Prince Bishops, who ruled this northern city like medieval kings.

The tour starts at Durham County Court, where holes still mark where public gallows once stood. You'll walk along Old Elvet past the balcony where Victorian spectators watched hangings, then visit the Dun Cow pub where executioners lodged. Crossing the medieval Elvet Bridge, you'll descend to the former House of Correction, where lovable rogue Jimmy Allen died hours before his royal pardon arrived.

Climbing to Palace Green, you'll stand where Thomas Rowland was pressed to death in 1578, and hear how a ghost appeared in court during a murder trial. You'll see the cathedral's Sanctuary Ring, where criminals claimed refuge for 37 days, and discover the monastery's dungeons. The tour ends at Millennium Square with The Journey sculpture, depicting monks who brought St. Cuthbert's body here in 995.

On this 45-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

• The story of Mary Ann Cotton, who poisoned 21 people with arsenic-laced tea
• Matthew Atkinson's failed 1868 execution, when the rope snapped and he had to be hanged twice
• The Halmoot building, where Prince Bishops exercised their royal powers of justice
• Mary Nicholson's equally tragic 1798 double hanging after waiting an hour for a new rope
• The mass grave of Scottish prisoners from the 1650 Battle of Dunbar, discovered during excavations
• Thomas Vert's Market Place execution after killing his sister, then insisting on being hanged twice

This tour reveals Durham's role in shaping English criminal justice through centuries of executions and medieval power.